20 European Citizens' Initiative: Water
and sanitation
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8177/14
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COM(14) 177
| Commission Communication on the European Citizens' Initiative "Water and sanitation are a human right! Water is a public good, not a commodity!"
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| Legal base | —
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| Documents originated | 19 March 2014
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| Deposited in Parliament | 28 March 2014
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| Department | Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 10 April 2014
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| Discussion in Council | None planned
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background
20.1 The European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) was introduced by
the Lisbon Treaty to encourage a greater democratic involvement
of citizens in European affairs, and in particular Regulation
(EU) No. 211/2011 allows one million EU citizens, from at least
seven Member States, to call on the Commission to propose legislation
in areas where the EU has competence.
20.2 The Commission says that, although this has generated 20
such Initiatives, "Right2Water" is the first to have
met the requirements set down in the Regulation, and was submitted
to it by the organisers on 20 December 2013. It invites the Commission
to propose legislation implementing the human right to water and
sanitation as recognised by the United Nations, as well as promoting
the provisions of water and sanitation as essential public services
for all; calls for this legislation to require Governments to
ensure and provide all citizens with sufficient and clean drinking
water and sanitation; and urges the EU institutions and Member
States to ensure that all inhabitants enjoy the right to water
and sanitation, that water supply and management of water resources
should not be subject to "internal market rules" and
that water services are excluded from liberalisation. It also
calls on the EU to increase its efforts to achieve universal access
to water and sanitation.
The current document
20.3 The Regulation gives the Commission three months to respond
to the Initiative, and, following a meeting with the organisers
in February 2014, it has now done so in this Communication.
20.4 The Communication comments that access to safe drinking water
and sanitation is inextricably linked to the right to life and
human dignity, and to the need for an adequate standard of living.
It also refers to the Charter of Fundamental Rights, suggesting
that Article 1 (the right to dignity) and Article 2 (the right
to life) are of direct relevance for access to safe drinking water
and improved sanitation, and are clearly affected by the lack
of such access: and it considers that the EU's commitments to
a high level of environmental protection (Article 37) should also
be taken into account. At the same time, it notes that, although
any provision of EU law itself must be compatible with the Charter,
it applies to the Member States only when implementing EU law.
20.5 Against this background, the Commission notes the steps which
have been taken so far to address the issues raised by the Initiative,
including the Water Framework Directive, the Drinking Water Directive
and the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and their implementation;
exploring the benchmarking of water quality; and developing new
initiatives to improve transparency. It also highlights the EU's
long-standing commitment to improving water quality at the global
level.
20.6 The Communication goes on to provide assurances that the
principles around the human rights dimension of access to safe
drinking water and sanitation will continue to remain at the heart
of the Commission's policies, and that, at the EU level, it will
build on past work and continue to increase and improve access
to safe drinking water and sanitation for the whole population
through environmental policies and infrastructure funding. The
Commission also says that it will continue to ensure EU neutrality
as regards national, regional and local choices for the provision
of water services, whilst taking care that key Treaty principles
such as transparency and equal treatment are observed; that it
will consider improving the quantity and quality of information
available to all citizens in relation to water quality and services,
so as to provide them with greater scope to follow and more actively
participate in water management decisions at national, regional
or local level; and that, globally, the EU remains committed to
the international process to elaborate the post 2015 development
agenda and Sustainable Development Goals of universal application.
20.7 The Commission concludes by committing itself to take a number
of specific non-legislative steps, including:
· reinforcing
implementation of its water quality legislation, building on the
commitments presented in the 7th Environment Action Programme
and the Water Blueprint;
· launching
an EU-wide public consultation on the Drinking Water Directive,
notably with a view to improving access to quality water in the
EU;
· improving
transparency for urban wastewater and drinking water data management
and exploring the idea of benchmarking water quality bringing
about a more structured dialogue between stakeholders on transparency
in the water sector;
· cooperating
with existing initiatives to provide a wider set of benchmarks
for water services;
· stimulating
innovative approaches for development assistance;
· promoting
the sharing of best practices between Member States and identifying
new opportunities for cooperation; and
· advocating
universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation as a priority
area for future Sustainable Development Goals.
The Government's view
20.8 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 10 April 2014,
the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Dan Rogerson) draws attention
to the steps which have been taken within the UK to implement
various of the actions identified by the Commission, and to ensure
that consumers have access to supplies at reasonable prices.
20.9 He also comments at some length on the human
rights aspects, pointing out that the Charter simply restates
rights recognised in EU law before the Lisbon Treaty came into
force; does not create new fundamental rights, or alter the circumstances
in which individuals can rely on fundamental rights in order to
challenge the actions of Member States. He notes that it only
applies to Member States when they are acting within the scope
of EU law, and that the Government recognised the right to water
and to sanitation via statements published in 2006 and 2012 respectively,
with both rights being recognised as elements of "the right
of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and
his family" under Article 11 of the International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
20.10 The Minister goes on to say that the right
to an adequate standard of living was recognised as one to be
achieved progressively by States, within their available resources,
that the Government considered the right to water entitled everyone
to a sufficient amount of reasonably affordable and accessible
water necessary for survival, and that the right to sanitation
entailed providing a system for the treatment and disposal or
re-use of human sewage and associated hygiene. However, he points
out that, whilst right-holders are entitled to reasonable access
to the elements of the right, the cost of providing such access,
including any environmental and resource costs, may be recovered,
and the right does not prescribe any particular model of delivery
for public and private sectors.
20.11 The Minister also says that the UK Government
has asserted in its two statements that the rights to water and
sanitation are not free-standing rights or rights under customary
international law, and neither are they derived from other rights
such as the right to life. Also, it does not consider that recognition
of the rights to water and sanitation in the context of UN resolutions
is indicative of such rights emerging in customary international
law and would resist such an interpretation.
Conclusion
20.12 We understand that there are no plans for
this Communication to be discussed by the Council, and we note
that its aim is essentially to detail the steps already being
taken by the EU to address the various issues raised in this European
Citizens' Initiative, and to indicate certain areas for further
non-legislative action. We are therefore clearing it, but, as
it is the first such Initiative to meet the conditions laid down
in Regulation (EU) No. 211/2011, and to require a response from
the Commission, we think it right to draw it to the attention
of the House.
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